America in Crisis

America In Crisis

            It was one of those great moments in American sports.  Maybe some of you remember a baseball player, the center fielder for the Chicago Cubs.  The Cubs were playing the Dodgers on April 25 in 1976.  During the fourth inning William Thomas and his son ran out onto the field and attempted to set fire to the American flag.  They doused it with lighter fluid and their first match was blown out by the wind. That gave center fielder Rick Monday just enough time to sprint over and swipe the flag away and carry it to safety.  It was a touching moment.

            I will always remember what followed as a very proud moment for America.  The scoreboard lights congratulated Rick Monday:  “Rick Monday…you made a great play.”  It was truly a 'goose-bump' moment.  A whole stadium filled with patriotic Americans began to sing 'God Bless America'.    

            Americans have proven throughout their history that times of difficulty bring unity, not division. 

·        On tax day, April 15^th, 2013, Americans rallied to support the families of the innocent who were wounded or killed at the Boston marathon.  We all shared the pain.

·        I was only a second grader when my father picked me up at school and as we traveled home he told me of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  It was a devastating moment but Americans came together in our moment of tragedy.

·        I will never forget traveling south on 185 toward Baker High School in 1990 and watching our troops from Fort Benning head north in a convoy of busses that stretched for miles.  The residents of Columbus lined every bridge from Macon Road to Fort Benning and waved yellow ribbons and cheered as we sent our young soldiers off to war.  On that day I was so proud to be an American.

·        In 2001 I was teaching at Duluth High School in Atlanta and a teacher came to my room and suggested I turn on the television.  The terrorists had struck the twin towers in New York City.  The flow of food, water, medical supplies, prayer and sympathy into the streets of New York from all across this nation made me proud to be an American.

·        In 2005, hurricane Katrina affected 15 million as it decimated the city of New Orleans.  Youth groups from across America traveled to the area to assist in the clean up and show their support for fellow Americans in trouble and I was proud to be an American.

·        Americans came together after school shootings in Columbine, Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook.  There is something very, very special about Americans.

            Now Americans are facing a different kind of crisis.  It is covert.  It is subtle.  It is slowly creeping upon us like a fog in the night.  Many Americans are unaware of the danger our country faces.

            Let me preface the rest of what I want to say with this:  I love America.

·        I love the Bill of Rights.  There is no other document in history that so adequately defines the limits of government.

·        I love the Statue of Liberty.  She has always stood with open arms to welcome the oppressed to our shores.

·        I love the Constitution because it ensures justice to the accused.  It gives us a right to an attorney, a right to protect ourselves, a right to prohibit the government from invading the private space of our homes and offices.

            I love America.  I love living in the greatest land on earth.  I love being a citizen of this great country.

            That being said it is with great sadness that I recognize that the America is in deep trouble.  Maybe George Carlin captured it well when he wrote:

            “The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

            We spend more, but have less.  We buy more, but enjoy less.

            We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

            We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

            We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

            We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often.

            We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life.  We’ve added years to life not life to years!

            We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

            We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

            We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.”

            There is a verse in the Bible that summarizes America’s dilemma:  “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” – Psalm 9:17

            Ronald Reagan said this:  “If we ever forget that we are 'One Nation Under God,' then we will be a nation gone under.” - Ronald Reagan

            There are multiple diseases eating away at the soul of America.  We ignore the advice of the Great Physician to our own peril.  There are dark clouds gathering on the horizon, not just because we have forgotten God, but because we are in open defiance to God.

             "…The Lord spoke to Job out of the storm."   The problem is not that God has not spoke, the problem is that we are not listening.

1.  We are diseased financially.  

            America is financially bankrupt.  We have placed all our trust in the almighty dollar and we’ve forgotten the slogan we wrote there:  “In God we Trust”.

            The federal government borrows forty cents for every dollar it spends. 

Our government has managed to rack up $15 trillion in debt.  A figure so large it has no meaning whatsoever to most Americans. The National Debt is four times the size of the American economy. We are increasing American Debt at a rate of $4 billion per day. 

            I would suggest to you that what we are doing is immoral and unjust.  We are stealing away the money of our children and grandchildren and this act of cowardice will not go unanswered.

            We now live in a nation where takers outnumber givers.  It was Patrick Henry who said:  “Give me liberty or give me death!”  It wasn’t long until we were just saying, “Give me liberty”.  Now we only say “Give me”.

3.  We are diseased morally.

            “Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach (a disgrace) to any people.” – Proverbs 14:34  The terrorist will never destroy America but sin very well may.

            90% of America’s Christians are sending their children into secular schools.  Will you hear a word of caution?  If God is the source of all wisdom and the Bible is his method of conveying his wisdom to mankind, and the Bible is prohibited in public schools…how effective can government schools be??

            Christians who have no other choice than to send their kids to government schools must be actively providing their children with an alternative, biblical worldview.

            There are symptoms of crisis in America when:

·        A child is punished at school for saying grace over a meal.

·        A teacher’s job is terminated because he used the Bible as a resource in the classroom.

            Noah Webster, the father of American Education once said that education is “useless without the Bible.”

            There are symptoms of a moral crisis in America when:

·        Our textbooks condemn Hitler for the bloody murder of 6 million Jews but we indoctrinate our young women to believe that aborting their unborn is a noble and admirable thing to do.

·        We have murdered as many as 55 million babies over the last 40 years since our Supreme Court twisted and warped the constitution in order to condone such an atrocity.

            I remember when an unborn child within the womb was a precious, human life.  Now it is disposable material to be eliminated at our own convenience.  The unborn baby is looked upon as an inconvenience that is intruding upon our lifestyle rather than a miraculous event where God has planted one human life within another.

            Jesus said, “If any of you cause one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for you to be cast into the sea with a millstone tied around your neck.” – Matthew 8:6

           

            Our young girls are being told by a godless culture that if they don’t offer themselves sexually they will never be loved. The music our young men listen to badgers them to use drugs and become violent and disrespect women and the female body.

We are suffering a moral crisis in America:

·        Pornography now produces more money than all the sports events in the entire nation combined.

·        30% of women, 79% of men and 54% of pastors view porn on television or the internet.  Pornography shatters marriages and destroys the God-sanctioned institution of family.

            NEA spokesman to the United Nations, Dianne Schneider, said that the only way to combat heterosexism is to teach sexual pleasure and tolerance to “every middle and high school student.”  She said that those opposed to homosexuality are “stuck in a “binary box that religion and family create.”

            We have redefined marriage to be what we want it to be rather than what God wants it to be. We have redefined love to mean:  I accept you the way you are and you can stay the way you are.

            God’s definition of love is:  I accept you as a sinner but I demand a change in your life. To those who embrace the immorality of the present age may we say this:  “God loves you as you are but he loves you too much to leave you as you are.”

            Isaiah 5:20  “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”

3.  We are diseased spiritually.

            "America wants God's blessing but not God. Our nation has systematically pushed Him out of the national consciousness -- rejecting biblical morality, ignoring His Word, and relying on the political and entertainment arenas for moral guidance." – John MacArthur

            Youth are abandoning the church by droves. 46% of Americans between ages 18 to 34 say they have no religion. Many who call themselves Christians no longer hold the traditional Christian beliefs.

            Paul advised Timothy to avoid those who “have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.” – 2 Tim. 3:5

            Oprah Winfrey has done a fabulous job of convincing 52% of American Christians that eternal life is not exclusively for those who accept Jesus Christ. 57% of American Christians believe that “many religions can lead to eternal life.” 

But Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.  -  John 14:6

            We are living in a culture spiritually depraved.  45% of Americans say they seldom read the scriptures and yet they claim to know truth. We are diseased spiritually because we are not reading the word, we are not praying and we are not attending church.  Less than 20% of Americans regularly attend church.

            “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”  - 2 Tim. 4:3

Conclusion:

            We have been in moments of crisis many times before and we successfully survived.  This is what we must do:

            1.  We must express individual repentance.  We must look into our own hearts and confess sin, confess hatred, bigotry and pride.

            “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways…” – 2 Chronicles 7:14

            2.  We need pastors who are willing to redefine what a successful church looks like.  We are not just trying to get people into church.  We are trying to get souls into the kingdom.  We don’t want to build our churches on marketing schemes.  We want to build our churches on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

            3.  We need to humble ourselves and fall on our knees and ask God to restore and revive America.  God was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for 10 righteous men.  He wants desperately to spare America. 

            Ronald Reagan once said, “No matter where we live we have a promise that can make all the difference.  A promise from Jesus to soothe our sorrows, heal our hearts and drive away our fears.  He promised there would never be a dark night that does not end.  ‘Our sorrow may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.’”

            Reagan continued:  “Now I realize that it is fashionable in some circles to believe that no one in government should encourage others to read the Bible that we are told that we will violate the constitution of church and state established by the founding fathers in the 1^st Amendment.  The 1^st Amendment was not written to protect people and their laws from religious values, it was written to protect those values from government tyranny…we must be cautious claiming that God is on our side, I think the real question that we must answer is, are we on God’s side.”

            If the Americans will turn away from humanism and back to God then the very gates of hell cannot prevail against her!

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.

Is God Warning America?

What is the secret of America’s great success?  America’s freedom and prosperity didn’t happen by chance.   We are a nation blessed by God.  We have been blessed beyond any nation in history but now we have forgotten God.  Psalm 9:17 "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."  We continue to fill the cup of God’s wrath with our corruption.  God is saddened when a man seems content to live in the filth of his own corruption.  A man should tremble at the wrath he stirs in the heart of God when he attempts to destroy the hearts of others, especially the young and innocent, with his corruption.  As a nation we have awakened the wrath of God by exporting our corruption to other nations.  We use to export steel, textiles and technology.  Now we export pornography, abortion and homosexual rights.

We have banned the Bible, prayer and the Ten Commandments from our schools and institutions.  We have banned the very mention of God’s name.  Do we expect God to slump his shoulders and walk away?  What is God’s reaction to America’s rejection of him?  Because he is the same yesterday, today and forever and he never changes, we can learn how God will react to America today by looking historically at how he reacted to countries of the past that committed such sins. 

What do Israel and America have in common?  They are the only two nations in history that were founded upon God from their very inception.  America was called to be a light to the nations just as ancient Israel was.  God’s plan for countries that he has chosen to be light and salt is that if we continue to follow him we will be blessed but if we turn our backs on him and forget him we shall be removed. 

Dr. Luke recorded these words of Jesus; “…to whom much is given, of him shall much be required."  (Luke 12:48)  We were established on the foundations of the very word of God and he blessed us for our efforts, for our obedience.  We became the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth.  We were blessed with resources, we were blessed with ingenuity and innovations and a standard of living that other nations could only dream of. 

Israel experienced similar blessings over 2500 years ago.  Israel was chosen of God to be that “city upon a hill”, that nation that would be the flag ship for all other nations, pointing them toward God.  But Israel was influenced by the pagan practices of neighboring nations.  They lost their hunger for God and they began to yearn for frivolous things that would temporarily satisfy the lusts of their hearts.  They began to live for the moment rather than for eternity.

God allowed Israel to suffer an attack from Assyria from the north.  This was a wakeup call.  But rather than respond to this warning from the Almighty, Israel continued in her waywardness.  When God spoke against the sons of Jacob and his judgment fell on Israel they said, “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.” (Isaiah 9:10) 

God removed the umbrella of protection from Israel.  He meant this attack form Assyria to be a warning.  It was a wake-up call.  He was pleading with his chosen:  “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)  But they were a rebellious people, they had “eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear.” (Ezekiel 12:2)

The attack of the Assyrians didn’t move them to repent, rather, it revealed their arrogance.  “We will replace the damaged bricks with dressed stone.  We will replace the fallen sycamores with tall and noble cedars,” they said.  The first stage of judgment was completed and it resulted in no conversion.  Therefore, God will try again to awaken the hardened, sleeping hearts of the Israelites.  What is more serious than to lift one’s fist to the face of God and refuse his call to repentance?  God could not ignore this blatant rebellion.

When God smites he means to humble us and turn us back to him.  When the reaction is pride instead of humility we are setting ourselves up for a greater smiting.  Matthew Henry says of this verse:  (Isaiah 9:10) “The people turn not to Him who smites them, therefore he continues to smite: for when God judges, he will overcome; and the proudest, stoutest sinner shall either bend or break.” 

Messianic Rabbi Jonathon Cahn identifies 8 harbingers in this verse. (The Harbinger, Jonathon Cahn)  A harbinger is anything that foreshadows a future event.  Cahn makes a convincing comparison between God’s treatment of Israel and God’s treatment of America. 

The first harbinger was “the bricks have fallen.”  This bricks were weak, sun dried and easy to destroy.  There was damage but it was limited.

The second harbinger; “but we will rebuild.”  God is encouraging repentance but they are defying this and choose instead to display their arrogance.  They will apply human effort to undo the judgment of God.

The third harbinger:  “we will rebuild stronger.”  “If you destroy our bricks we will replace them with strong and ornate stone.  If you destroy our sycamore trees, trees of little value, we will replant great cedars.  We will make what you destroyed greater than it was before,” they said.

The fourth harbinger:  “the hewn stone”.  “The bricks have been destroyed but we will rebuild with hewn stone.”  The weak bricks made of clay will be replaced by stone hewn and cut from the mountain.  They shook their fist in the face of God and said, “You destroyed us in our weakness, we will come back stronger than ever.”

The fifth harbinger:  The spirit of defiance.  God recognizes this attitude and he is trying to purge them of this sin.

The sixth harbinger:  “The sycamore has been cut down.”  This tree was a type of fig mulberry tree.  They were common, they were weak.  The Assyrians cut them down when they attacked.

The seventh harbinger:  The strong Cedar tree.  “We will replace the weak sycamore with the strong cedar.  You sent the Assyrians to attack us.  You thought it would weaken us and turn us to repentance.  Instead, the weak will be made strong and we will do this by our own effort with no help from God.”

The eight harbinger:  The leaders of the nation say that they will rebuild.  “We will be stronger yet.”  They failed to humble themselves in the eyes of God and because of their arrogant reaction, “his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.” (Isaiah 9:21)

Cahn compares this first judgment of God on the Israelites with America’s 9/11 experience.  What was 9/11?  It cast our country into shock.  Seven years later our economy came crashing down.  Was this God sending a warning across the bow? 

The Rabbi draws our attention to the next chapter in Isaiah:  “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!”  (Isaiah10:5)  God is using the Assyrians to warn the Israelis of judgment yet to come.  He then says that after he is finished with this ‘rod’ he will “…punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.”  (Isaiah 10:12)

As God allowed the Assyrians to wake up the Israelis, has he not allowed the terrorist of 9/11 to wake up America?  Are we going to humble ourselves and repent or are we going to be arrogant and ignore his judgment?

The Harbinger, Jonathon Cahn

The Harbinger, Issues in Education, Bob and Geri Boyd

Matthew Henry’s Commentary – Isaiah Chapter 9

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.

The Truth About America (Part 5) What can we do?

I want to share hope with you because Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick." The truth about America is that one day it will crumble just as all other great empires have throughout history. Countries and empires, like humans, are not immortal. They have a lifespan, a beginning and an end. Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall for Balshazzar, “you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.” America has cut deeply into the heart of God by making provision for horrendous sin among her people.
Our hope is found in the fact that we might delay his judgment. American Christians are like desperate men bailing water out of a sinking ship. We cannot prevent his judgment but perhaps we might delay it. There has always been a remnant of believers in every fallen civilization. Elijah the prophet had that ‘all alone’ feeling when he stood at Mt. Carmel and declared ““I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left…” (1 Kings 18:22) In times of discouragement God’s people often feel they are all alone. This is not true. God would later assure Elijah that he was NOT alone, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal” (1 Kings 19:18) Christian, who weeps for America, you are not alone. There is a remnant of millions who weep with you.
We believe we might delay God’s judgment because we know that he is “not willing that any should perish.” (2 Peter 3:9)
God has always preceded his judgment with an unfathomable mercy. God raised up Queen Esther for such a time as this. He used her to save her people from evil Haman. God sent Joseph into the land of Egypt where he was used to make preparations to save his family from the coming famine. God provided for the promotion of Daniel in the King’s court so that he would be in a position to prepare for the exile of his people to Babylon. God will extend his hand of mercy through the voices faithful to his calling.
What must we do?
1. Live right. "Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself" (Daniel 1?8) It's not enough to simply know right from wrong. You must purpose in your heart not to defile yourselves with the sin of the culture.
Before you sit down at the computer…
Before you take that test…
Before you go out on a hot date…
Before you sit down to complete your income tax…
Before you turn on the television… purpose in your heart that you will not defile yourself.
Dwight Moody was visiting Britain in 1872 and he met a young evangelist named Henry Varley. As they sat on a park bench in Dublin, Varley remarked to Moody, "Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man that is fully consecrated to him." For four days Moody contemplated those words. They burned a hole in his heart and he could not escape them. He thought to himself, " With the help of the Holy Spirit, I'll be that man."
Purpose in your heart…By God's grace, “I'm not going to sin.”
b. We must pray.
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)
Let us not pray for laws to make abortion illegal, let us pray that the hearts of people will be changed so they no longer seek abortion.
Let us not pray for more laws to make pornography illegal, but let us pray that the hearts of people will be changed so that pornography will go out of business due to lack of interest.
Let us not pray for laws to legislate morality, let us pray for a people who are moral not because of man's laws written in a book, but because of God's laws written on their hearts.
c. We must let our light shine. The truth about America is that our culture has become exceedingly corrupt and sinful. It is not something we should be depressed about. consider it as an opportunity to let your light shine.
When I bought my wife's wedding ring I went into Shane's of Atlanta and looked at all the thousands of rings. It was overwhelming. But the salesman brought out a diamond and put in on a black velvet background. Wow! It was brilliant.
Our opportunity is to live the Christian life on the blackened background of a sinful culture. Your life will shine brilliantly for Christ's glory.
Works Cited:
1. Political Unrest in America - Kevin Swanson
2. Spiritual Decline of a Nation - Donna Kazenske
3. A Bankrupt Nation - Gerald Flury
4. When a Nation Implodes - Dr. Robert Jeffress
5. National Judgment - Russ Sukhia
6. What's Ahead for America - Ron Comfort

The Truth About America (Part 1) Who Is Weeping For America?

The Truth About America (Part 1)
Who Is Weeping For America?
By Kevin P. Probst
One man said the “truth hurts, not the searching after, the running from.” I see so many who are running away from the truth about America. I understand that coming face to face with the painful truth about a country one loves can be extremely painful but I also know that solutions to our problems can’t be found until we stop running from the truth. For those who are followers of Christ, he taught us: “the truth will set you free.”
So, what is the truth about America? You’ll not find that truth in the voices you hear on talk radio and network television. Many listen to Rush Limbaugh, Anderson Cooper or Glen Beck, as if they were infallible sources of truth. The real and only source of truth is the divinely inspired Word of God. It is God conversing with the hearts of men through his own Spirit.
My in-laws came to visit a couple months ago. In fact, my wife’s father had come to help me put in a new hot water heater. We worked well together. I don’t have a mechanical bone in my body so he turned screw drivers and twisted wrenches and I held the flash light for him. But as I stood there watching things I didn’t understand I began to feel something was not right. My head felt light. My stomach felt queasy. My wife had grilled steaks and baked potatoes but I had no appetite. I finally dismissed myself and went to bed. Later that night a gut-wrenching sickness gripped me.
Americans are feeling like something isn’t right. There is a queasiness deep within. There is a gut feeling that things are not as they should be. According to a recent poll conducted by The Hill Newspaper, 69% of Americans believe our country is in decline. 83% are worried about America’s future. So, what is wrong with America?
We see a strange group of people Occupying Wall Street. We observe copycat demonstrations going on all over the country. Angry, violent flash mobs are robbing convenience stores and beating patrons. Rage seems to be reaching a boiling point. We are more politically polarized than ever. The promise to unify us seems to have morphed into a determination to divide us.
I see a vast number of Americans who desire to see but they cannot. They want to know but they can’t. Jesus said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.” (Matt. 13:13) The multitudes are crying, “What’s wrong with our society? What’s wrong with our country?” Isaiah said, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this peoples' heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.” Jesus quoted that verse to his disciples and then he said to them, “blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.” – (Matt. 13:16) A clear perspective of this problem cannot be achieved unless it is viewed through the lenses of truth found in the Word of God. Any other perspective muddies one’s view of what is really happening.
This is the truth about America. We have exalted our government to be our god. It has become our idol. The American people keep voting for more and bigger government. The poor no longer look to God. They look to the government for more welfare. The ignorant no longer look to God. They expect the government to educate the masses. We no longer look for wisdom in the Word of God. Instead, we have removed that book from our schools. We presume that government can solve the problem of alcoholism. We pretend that Government is winning the war on drugs and eliminating poverty. We expect government to integrate us and teach us to live together in love and harmony.
People are angry because their god has failed them. The pain of disappointment and disillusionment is causing them to hate their government. They hate Bush. They hate Obama. They hate Republicans and Democrats. They have no confidence in the Congress. Only 9% are pleased with the job Congress is doing. (CBS, NY Times poll) The corruption in their government has reached unprecedented levels. Something has gone terribly wrong but an unrepentant people can’t perceive what it is.
As a history teacher I teach my students that the one thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history. History certainly does repeat itself. America is not suffering from a new and mysterious ailment. America suffers from the same things that affected previous nations and empires of the past. We have eyes but we fail to see. Isn’t this affirmed by the fact we have seen a multitude of nations try socialism and communism and everyone without fail plunged into societal darkness and experienced economic failure. Russia, China and numerous eastern European countries are fleeing a failed system. Who can explain the mysterious and incomprehensible fact that our country (America) is moving toward socialism and big government? Why are we abandoning what brought us success and embracing what has brought failure to other nations? It is because we have eyes but we cannot see.
One day Jesus stood on a hill overlooking the city of Jerusalem. He opened his heart and revealed the great compassion he had for his people, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt. 23:37)
Who is weeping for America?